BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
An innocent man’s life was
knowingly, wholly and intentionally
shattered to advance
the political goals of a party
that had lost an honest election.
A nation was thrown
into turmoil for years by a
collection of elected offi cials
and strategically placed bureaucrats
who believed that
they had the right to engage
in underhanded efforts to reject
the will of the people.
The actions of people like
Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi,
Charles Schumer, John Brennan,
James Comey, Andrew
McCabe, and Peter Strzok,
and the pundits in the media
that aided and abetted their
illicit efforts refl ect the direct
legacy of the utter corruption
of the Obama Administration,
which turned the machinery
of government into a
partisan attack dog. The extent
of the foul play that has
prevailed since the advent
of the Obama-Biden White
House is unprecedented.
The actions of Loretta
Lynch, who used the Justice
Department to terrorize
those who merely disagreed
with Obama, and those of
Lois Lerner, who openly utilized
her position at the IRS
to harass conservatives,
were vicious and worthy of
jail time.
But of course, no prosecutions
occurred, just as
no criminal charges were
brought against Hillary Clinton,
who authorized the sale
of the basic ingredient of nuclear
weapons to an enemy
nation in return for cash considerations
BRONX TIMES R 26 EPORTER, JUNE 5-11, 2020 BTR
to her “foundation.”
Perhaps, in a nation now
244 years old, it was inevitable
that at some point the
heights of dishonesty would
occasionally be scaled. Even
a document as brilliant as the
U.S. Constitution, the greatest
work of political genius in
history, could not prevent every
act of criminal intent.
If that were the sole problem,
it would be relatively
comforting to recognize the
challenge, and work diligently
in election cycles to
prevent individuals of low
character from again gaining
elected or appointed offi
ce. But the problem is far
deeper.
The issue is the tolerance
of evil in the name of partisan
politics, and the loss of
any concept of objective morality.
Consider how differently
the nation reacted to the current
scandals than to the far
lesser Watergate matter. Watergate
involved a break-in of
a Democratic National Committee
offi ce and the wiretapping
of phones. Nixon failed
to take proper steps to expose
the wrongdoing and punish
the perpetrators. For those
sins, he was appropriately
vilifi ed and driven from offi
ce.
The actions of the Obama
Administration were far worse.
Rather than employing a few
scoundrels, whole branches of
government were morphed into
partisan tools. This was not just
an assault on political adversaries,
it was an assault against
morality itself and the entire
constitutional order. It refl ected
the worst practices of the worst
regimes in history. It’s the same
type of practice that the Nazi
Party did to the German government,
and what the Communist
Party did to the Russian government.
The Party’s interest became
more important than the
nation’s and horror ensued.
There is no act too outrageous,
no statement too untrue,
for party-above-nation believers
to engage in. The Democratic
Senator from Connecticut,
Chris Murphy, alleges that
Trump is more to blame for the
COVID-19 crisis than China, a
statement so absurd it should
have been met with total ridicule.
But in an election year, it
helps his Party, so it goes unresponded
to by many Democrats
and their media allies. The
damage to America and the help
to an enemy nation is not a consideration,
as long it achieves
partisan goals.
The absence of not only patriotism
but morality itself has
led to this juncture. America’s
national soul will not be expunged
until the citizenry rejects
the placement of partisanship
above honesty, morality,
the rule of law and the nation
itself.
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
KEEP THIS PILOT
GROUNDED:
Legislation 1004, which
overwhelmingly and quietly
passed the City Council, was
enacted in March 2019. The
legislation established a “Pilot
Program” legalizing certain
basement and cellar apartments
in portions of Brooklyn.
According to City Council
member Brad Lander (Brooklyn
District 39), “Converting
basement units into safe and
legal housing is an important
way to address the NYC affordable
housing crisis…it will
also enable us…to smartly expand
the program to neighborhoods
around the city.”
All eligible homes must be
owner occupied; however, the
screening and inspection procedure
are fl awed. In Bronx
County access refusals leaves
a large number of illegal tenancy/
certifi cates of occupancy
complaints unresolved. New
York City’s unreliable and ineffective
method of monitoring
this assertive housing
plan is an enticement to absentee
landlord investors.
A scan through the NYC
ACRIS system revealed much
property ownerships in lowdensity
segments of the CB 10
footprint with LLP or LLC status.
This fi nding is congruent
with marked increases in absentee
landlordism.
Recent studies by the National
Institute for Health
revealed a strong relationship
between absentee landlords
and a negative quality
of life. The studies logically
concluded that homes with
absentee landlords are more
likely to be neglected and become
points of neighborhood
nuisances than those with an
owner living on premise.
Area residents must take
a proactive stance and make
it abundantly clear that this
“Pilot Program” will not be
granted permission to land in
our community.
BY AL D’ANGELO
The Mayor of Minneapolis
telling police to abandon a police
station and allow it to be
burned to the ground is a national
disgrace. The cause of
justice is not advanced with
rioting and looting; it only further
polarizes the nation.
The cause of justice was advanced
by the nonviolent protests
of Martin Luther King Jr.
When marchers were attacked
by dogs, and mobs with clubs,
a nation watched in horror.
Things changed because what
we saw was unjust and marchers
gave no provocation except
their skin color.
How does looting and burning
serve the cause of justice?
How does destroying a business
that hires many local residences
further the cause of
justice? The Black community
is again exploited by outside
groups looking out for their
own vested interest. When
they’re done, they will leave
and never look back and the
residence will once more be on
their own.
Promises made – promises
broken.
The cause of justice again
is being hijacked by lawless.
Decent people watch in disgust
the disgraceful behavior
of the thugs in Minnesota and
around the nation. It takes
away from the death of George
Floyd and puts the spotlight
on lawlessness. Decent Americans,
both black and white, are
forced into two camps – pro police/
anti-black, pro black/antipolice.
Using brutality to fi ght brutality
is hypocritical. 106 police
offi cers lost their lives in
the line of duty last year. Imagine
if, every time a police offi -
cer is killed in the line of duty,
800,000 offi cers rioted, looted
and destroyed property. If there
is blood on the badge, and I say
if, because even though the
video evidence is overwhelming,
we still live in a country
where a man is innocent until
proven guilty and if guilty,
they should be prosecuted to
the fullest extent of the law.
The 800,000 law enforcement
offi cers in this country
represent all ethnicities and
religions and are sworn to protect
and serve. They are men
and women with families who
put their lives on the line each
day to protect us. These offi -
cers, if guilty, cast a pall on
every hard-working offi cer in
this country and they deserve
better. It is the right of every
American to protest wrong doings,
but it must be done with
tolerance of opposing views
and within the guidelines of
the law. Lawlessness should
never be tolerated.
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action
Civic Association
CIVIC CENTER
Spencer Estate Civic
Association
CIVIC CENTER
Morris Park
Community
Association
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On Saturday, May 30th, Mount Saint Michael Academy's
8th and 12th grade students picked up their caps and
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drive-by event on campus.
Courtesy of Mount Saint Michael Academy
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